Tucson police substation offers new way to get report for minor crashes

May 31--Before the ribbon was cut Wednesday morning on the Tucson Police Department's new collision reporting center, it had already serviced its first two customers.

The center at the department's midtown substation, at the northwest corner of East 22nd Street and South Alvernon Way, will allow drivers to report noninjury vehicle crashes to police, the state and their insurance company at the same time and provide drivers with a professional and timely investigation, said Assistant Police Chief Kevin Hall.

Tucson police stopped sending officers to investigate noninjury crashes in 2011 because of staffing issues. The center allows the department to give back to the community by providing a customer service it used to provide, Hall said.

The center will also alleviate the need for drivers to wait by the side of the road to report a crash, potentially reducing secondary crashes and traffic delays for other drivers, according to TPD.

The center is a partnership with a Canadian company, Accident Support Services International, which has 32 other collision reporting centers in North America. Tucson's will be the first in the state and only the second in the country, said company Chairman Steve Sanderson.

The service is free to the public, department and state, with the company's funding coming from insurance companies, Sanderson said.

The company, which has been in business for more than 25 years, invested roughly $3 million to set up the system in Tucson.

The collision reporting center will be open six days a week, with five employees on hand to take reports. ASSI anticipates taking reports from about 25 people a day, but if it's busier, the company will increase staffing to meet the demands, Sanderson said.

The collision reporting center won't be used to process crashes involving deaths, criminal activity, government vehicles, hazardous materials, hit-and-runs, bicyclists or pedestrians, according to the Police Department.

"This is a very convenient thing for the city of Tucson," Sanderson said.

If a person is involved in a noninjury crash, they're asked to call 911 and report the incident so the operator can determine if the involved parties should go to the reporting center.

When a driver goes to the center, an ASSI employee will take a statement about the crash and photograph the vehicle. The reports, which police will review for consistency, can be forwarded directly to the driver's insurance company, along with the photographs, Sanderson said.

The driver will have an opportunity to call family members and his or her insurance company, and ASSI employees will provide information on what happens next.

Aside from freeing up police officers to respond to other calls, TPD will also benefit from the data provided to it through the crash reports, which will allow the department to monitor not only where crashes are happening, but also how and why.

"We'll be able to look at the data and allocate traffic resources as is necessary," Hall said.

At the end of the six-month pilot program, the department and company will decide how to expand the program or make it more efficient. It's unlikely the center will leave Tucson at the end of the program, as the company has never had a failure, Sanderson said.

This allows the consumer to expedite their insurance claim and prevent insurance fraud, according to Sanderson.

"I'm very optimistic this is a positive change that will be a model for the rest of the country," Hall said.

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Contact reporter Caitlin Schmidt at [email protected] or 573-4191. Twitter: @caitlincschmidt.

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